The Dolphin Necklace
This is a story about a girl from 4 chosen to go into the 72nd Hunger Games. Disclaimer: Everything you recognize is not mine, it's Suzanne Collins's. Everything you do not recognize, such as Andy, is mine. Note: This is an alternate universe story, so some of the things that happened in the series has not happened in this story. Prologue (Third Person POV) The waves were going back in forth, bringing in seaweed and shells. She walked up the surf gathering shells and seaweeds. She saw a shine coming from a rock, and walked over to it. There, lodged under the stone, was a chain. She nealt down and pushed to rock away and there was a necklace. There was a simple silver chain, with a pendant at the end. The pendant was covered with sand so she couldn't tell what it was. The girl cleansed it in the salt water and saw what the pendant was suppossed to be. A dolphin. Chapter 1 (Andy's POV) "Gareth! Look at what i found!" I pushed open the door to by best friend's house. "What?" Gareth walked down the hallway leading to the front door of his house. His copper hair sparkled in the light coming from the open door. My heart always skipped a beat when i saw him. His soft, copper colored hair; his evenly tanned skin; his beautiful green eyes, always looking into yours. He had plenty of lovers in 4, but didn't want any of them. I was the only girl he even talked to. "Andy?" I was shaken from my daydream. "Oh, sorry. Well, look at what i found." I held up the necklace, shining in the evening light. Gareth's eyes focused on it, taking in its whole being. "Where did you find it?" He reached towards the chain with his hand. "I was gathering seeweed and shells on the beach. I saw the chain under a rock and grabbed the necklace. I ran right over here to show you." "What are you going to do with it?" Gareth caressed the dolphin in the palm of his hand. He rubbed his finger over the smooth surface of the dolphin's side. "Keep it. Dolphin's are good luck, so it might keep me from getting chosen for the Hunger Games. Let's hope it does." "I hope it does. I could never handle it if you were chosen to go to an arena who knows where and have a one/twelve chance of surviving. At least you have training in spears, harpoons, tridents, and fishing." "Yeah. You wanna go fishing or something?" "Sure." Gareth handed me the necklace and I hung it around my neck. We walked out the door and to the dock where Gareth's small fishing boat was moored. I stepped in and untied the rope while Gareth grabbed out poles and nets. He set them in the back of the boat and then went to the wheel. He started the engine and we headed out to the deep blue sea. I dropped the anchor once we were at our usual spot and then cast my line out. I dropped a net into the water and then went back to my line. I noticed a couple fins in the water and could tell they were sharks. I hoped the small boat we were in wouldn't capsize. My rod bent and I reeled it in. At the end was a medium sized tuna. I put that in our bucket filled with water and cast my rod out again. Gareth hooked two crabs and put them in with the tuna. I checked on the net and in it were ten other tuna. I went back to my rod, which looked like the fish at the end was going to break it. I tried reeling it in, but the fish was over a thousand pounds. My rod could only handle fifty. The boat lurched under us and I dropped my rod. The huge fish, probably a shark, got away and I ran over to Gareth. "What's happening? The boat never lurches like this unless......" We looked at eachother and knew exactly what was happening. "The boat is sinking." Chapter two I rushed under deck, Gareth on my heels. There was a window sized hole in the hull. The boat was going down, and there was no saving it. I pressed the alarm, which alerted the Justice Building. People would be here in a matter of minutes. I grabbed our emergency life jackets and handed one to Gareth. We put them around our bodies and tightened them so they were snug. We headed back to the deck and I brought in our net and grabbed our fishing poles and handed Gareth's to him. If there was one rule for a sinking boat, it was to grab your fishing supplies. "What now?" I turned towards Gareth and looked at him desperatly. "We wait for the Coast Savers." The Coast Savers was a group of men and women who saved people from sinking ships and boats. They all had to pass a test to be in the group. I looked towards shore and saw a boat heading out. It was about a mile away though. They wouldn't be here in time. The water was up to my ankles already. "We have to dive." "What?!" I looked at Gareth like he was crazy. "We have to dive in the water. We can't stay near the boat, or we'll be sucked down with it. And we have to leave our poles and net here." "Fine. Let's go before the boat is down completly." The boat was already tipping upwards, pointing at the heavens. I dove in the water right after Gareth. The Coast Savers were close now. "HELP!!!! HELP US!!!!" I waved my hands above my head and told Gareth to do the same. The Coast Savers finally arrived, but not before the boat was on the bottom of the ocean. A women pulled me up onto the boat, and then helped Gareth. A man handed us towels and I wrapped mine tightly around my shoulders. The man guided us to a bench and I sat down. A women in a white dress put a thermometor in my mouth and another one in Gareth's. She pulled it out of my mouth and declared that I didn't have hypothermia or a cold. She took Gareth's out and said he didn't have anything either. A man came out with two mugs of a brown liquid and told us it was hot chocolate. I took a sip and was met with a warm, delicious drink. It warmed me up inside and out. I wish my family could have afforded chocolate, but that was a rare delicacy in 4. The sweetest thing I've had before this was a small pouch of roasted pumpkin seeds. I always kept a small pouch with me, because they were delicious. I drank all of the hot cholocate by the time we arrived at shore. My parents and Gareth's parents were standing there, along with my little sister and Gareth's big brother. When we got docked, my sister jumped onto the boat. "ANNIE! WAT HAPPEN?" My 3 year old sister wrapped her skinny arms around my leg. I pulled her into my arms and propped her on my hip. "Gareth's boat sunk. There was a huge hole in the hull." "A hole in de hull? How it get there?" "We don't know. Should we go back home, Nell?" "YA!" As soon as my feet were on the dock, she jumped out of my arms and ran to the beach. My parents walked over to me. "What happened, Andromeda?" "Gareth's boat sunk for some reason." "That must have been the first sinking since before you were born, Andy." My mother rested her hand on her swollen stomach, large from the baaby that was due any day. "Are you sure you're okay?" "I'm fine, Mom. We were only in the water for about five minutes." "If you say so. Well, I need to go run some errands. I'll be home in about an hour." "Okay, Mom." She hugeed me on last time and then went towards the Baker's shop. I walked back to my house after saying bye to Gareth. I ran up to my room and jumped onto my bed. How the heck did the boat sink? A shark couldn't have done that, and we weren't even near a reef. And today of all days? My mom said there wasn't a sinking since before I was born. And right after I found the necklace... It must be a coincedence.... It had to be a coincedence. Chapter 3 (sorry for it being so short) It was the day of the Reaping. My mother did my hair in a simple braid down my back and I put on a simple blue dress. My sister ran up to me and held on to my leg. "Don't get chosen, Annie! I miss you if you go!" "Don't worry, Nellie. I won't get chosen. There are so many other people here, it will be near impossible to get chosen." "What if Gareth gets chosen?" "He won't get chosen, either. Go to Mom now, Nellie." Nellie let go off my leg and ran into the kitchen of my small house. My mom had told me to head to the Square before her, and she would get there before the actualy Reaping. I waited in line to get my name in. When it was my turn, the man took my finger, took a drop of blood, and put my name in the book. I headed to the spot where the sixteen year old girls waited, and saw Gareth in the spot where he was supposed to go. My mom, my father, and my sister were standing where they were supposed to be, and then Hunli Tinkand, the escort for District 4, and Nolan Uilie, the mentor for District 4, walked on stage. The mayor was already seated, and Nolan sat down by him. Hunli walked to the spheres holding our names and grabbed the microphone. "Ladies first!" She reached into the girls' sphere and then read out the name. "Andromeda Molina." Chapter 4 I heard shouting and then my sister ran up to me as i walked towards stage. "ANNIE! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T GO!" Nellie had tears running down her face. "Nellie, go back to Mom and Dad. Before the Peacekeepers have to take you there." She hugged my leg one last time then ran back to my mother and father. I noticed that my mom had her face buried in my father's chest and he had tears in his eyes. No one dared volunteer for me, not even the toughest girls in our district. I walked up onto stage and stood next to Hunli. She reached into the boys' sphere and pulled a name out. She spoke in her chirpy Capitol accent. "Perseus Hilman." A boy from my school, in my class. He walked up to the stage, none volunteering. His tan skin glistened in the blisterin heat, his black hair damp from sweat. He stood next to me, a frown on his face. He turned towards me and shook my hand. "Well, that concludes the Reaping, and remember, may the odds be ever in your favor!" Some peacekeepers hustled Perseus and I inside the Justice Building and into seperate rooms where we would say our goodbyes. The first person to come in was Gareth. "Hey, Andy." He sat down on the couch with me, and I saw he had tears in his eyes. I reached over to him and hugged him. Then the tears started spilling out of my eyes. "Andy, you need to get your hands on a weapon. A trident, spear, anything that you know how to use. Find water, then you'll be set. You have to survive, Andy, you have to." "Gareth, please. Take care of my family. My sister, my mother, they can't fish or anything like we can. My father cannot bring the fish he catches home, the company he works for won't let him. Please, Gareth, please." "I will, Andy, don't worry. I'll protect them." And then he kissed me. QIP Category:daughterofTerpsichore